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Wolf hunt may reach quota limit by end of next month

Wisconsin's first wolf hunt might end before animal rights' groups are able to stop it. About one-third of the season's quota has already been taken in the first two weeks. And at the current pace, the inaugural wolf hunt will be finished at the end of November instead of its scheduled completion date of February 28th.

Thirty-eight wolves have been killed so far - 21 by trappers and 17 by gun hunters. The statewide quota is 116. The Humane Society of the U.S. and the Fund-for-Animals have filed a notice of intent to pursue legal action - and they could file suit as early as mid-November. They want to stop the wolf hunts in both Wisconsin and Minnesota, and put the animals back under federal protections as endangered species. Twenty-seven of the Wisconsin wolves killed so far are male, and 11 are female.

The vast majority are being taken in far northern Wisconsin. A half-dozen wolves have been killed in Price County, and four each in Bayfield and Oneida counties. The DNR says 769 wolf licenses were sold as of yesterday. One-thousand-160 of them were awarded in a lottery.